Siding construction



Feb. 21, 1967 s ET AL 3,304,676

SI'DING CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 29, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet l Feb. 21, 1967s. H. SALLIE ETAL 3,304,676

SIDING CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 29, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United StatesPatent 0 3,304,676 7 SEEING (IONSTRUCTlON Stanley H. Sallie, Mansfield,and Norman D. Olson, Sherborn, Mass, assignors to Bird & Son, inc., EastWalpole, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Filed Jan. 29, 1964, Ser.No. 340,917 2 Claims. (Cl. 52276) This invention relates to constructionmaterials, more particularly to clapboard siding for use in residences.It provides improved siding, corner and sealing units of organic plasticmaterial adapted to cooperate into a uniquely locked assembly forcovering the complete outside wall structure of a residence to provide ahighly attractive siding having the appearance of painted woodenclapboards.

Many attempts have been made through the years to produce siding forframe buildings having the classic appearance of wooden clapboards butwithout their disadvantages. Such artificial clapboards have not,however, been who-11y satisfactory prior to the present invention, dueto difficulties in integrating the siding with the house frame elementsat such points as window and door frames, to inadequate cornerstructures and to failure properly to integrate corner structures withthe siding, as well as to structural defects in the siding itself.

One of these defects has to do with the practical necessity of paintingor otherwise finishing the clapboards prior to installation, yet in sucha manner that it will not be damaged during construction or thereafter,even if the unit be cut for fitting during installation.

Another particularly troublesome structural defect has been the tendencyof prior artificial clapboard siding panels to undergo the deformationcommonly known as oil canning, in which a section of the planar surfaceof a panel becomes distorted out of that plane, in much the same way asthe thin flat bottom of a metal can may be distorted by pressing on itso that it can be snapped between two positions out of a flat plane.

It is thus a major object of the present invention to provide animproved siding unit having the clapboard form of organic plasticmaterial in which the color of the panel surface extends throughout itsthickness so that its finish cannot be cut or damaged duringinstallation, or thereafter, in such a manner as to provide unwantedcolor contrasts.

It is another object of the invention to provide such a siding unit freefrom oil canning.

it is a further object of the invention to provide an integrated, easilyinstallable locked assembly of siding units, inside and outside cornerstructures, and sealing units for use around Window and door frames,that is capable of covering the entire outside wall structure of abuilding in an attractive and economical manner to provide a high degreeof weather protection, and without the necessity for having a surfacefinish such as paint applied thereto at any time.

It is a particular object of the invention to provide a novel means forlocking the vertical terminal ends of overlapping adjoining sidingunits, which has not heretofore been possible in commercialclapboard-simulating siding units. Thus, known units tended to havelarge gaps midway along their terminal ends, which were mostunattractive from an appearance standpoint. The present invention solvesthis problem in a unique manner by providing end locking means whichlock the overlapping end edges of adjacent panels firmly to one another.Such locking means may be used regardless of whether the adjoiningpanels are overlapped from right to left or from left to right, withoutlimitation.

To accomplish some of its objects the invention pro vides a multiplepaneled plastic siding unit of organic plastic material of a uniformcolor throughout its cross section and its surfaces. Each siding unit isadapted to interlock with adjacent units above and below-it as Well asat its sides, there-by to form a continuous siding wall. Cornerstructures are provided with both the inside and outside cornersemploying a common structural principle to receive in vertical channelsthe free vertical edges of the interlocking siding units. In addition,J-shaped members are disposed around door and window frames, thesemembers also providing channels to receive the interlocking sidingunits, the J-shaped members containing resilient members against whichthe siding units abut.

Further objects, advantages and features of the invention will appearupon its detailed description, in connection with which a preferredembodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a segment of a wall structure showingthe interlocking siding panels in conjunction with the cornerstructures;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an individual siding unit;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 33 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 44 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5-5 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 66 in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a window frame with the siding brokenaway to show the J-shaped sealing member;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a segment of a I-shaped sealing membercontaining the resilient member;

FIG. 9 is a front view of an installed sealing member, broken away toshow the resilient member;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along the line 10-10 in FIG. 9 andFIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along the line 11-11 in FIG. 9.

Referring to the drawings, an individual clapboard simulating unit 20(FIG. 2), in one embodiment an integral linear extrusion of white vinylplastic of uniform color throughout its entire cross section, has upperand lower panels 22 and 24 joined by upper transverse strip 26. Lowerpanel 24 is spaced rearwardly of upper panel 22 and includes a novelintegral flange portion 31 extending upwardly beyond the bottom edge ofupper panel 22. Transverse strip 26 runs along the entire length of thesiding unit and extends from the bottom edge of panel 22 to a linespaced below the top edge of flange portion 31. The arrangement justdescribed is advantageous in several respects, the rearward spacing ofthe lower panel giving the clapboard effect, and the upward protrusionof flange portion 31 above the strip 26 and the bottom edge of panel 22giving important and multiple advantages. Flange 31 cooperates with theupper panel and strip to secure insulating board against the back of thesiding unit. Simultaneously, flange 31 cooperates with a slot 37 in anendwise adjacent siding unit to provide the unique end locking of theinvention. Both of these features are explained in more detail below.Additionally, and importantly, transverse strip 26, having most of itssurface area in a substantially horizontal plane, is strongly resistantto deformation about a vertical axis. Being an integral part of thesiding unit, strip 26 transmits this resistance to the panels 22 and 24and thereby greatly aids in the prevention of oil canning.

Along the bottom edge of panel 24, extending rearwardly in a mannersimilar to strip 26, is lower transverse strip 28. Lower strip 28 servesthe same anti oil canning purpose as upper strip 26, and terminates inan upwardly extending side locking web 32. Web 32 is an extremelyadvantageous dual purpose component of the siding unit. In the firstplace, web 32 cooperates with panel 24 and strip 28 to receiveinsulating board in the manner mentioned above with respect to flangeportion 31. At the same time, however, web 32 cooperates with lippedhooking means, described just below, on the immediately sidewiseadjacent siding unit to secure the units in interlocked position.

The hooking means just referred to comprise a hooking lip 30 runninghorizontally along the length of the siding unit along the top of upperpanel 22, but preferably spaced downwardly from the top edge of panel 22in order to leave room for nail holes 33 along said top edge by means ofwhich the siding unit is secured to the wall surface. The interlockingof lip 30 and web 32 of adjacent panels is shown in FIG. 6, web 32simply being inserted up between hooking lip 30 and upper panel 22. Inorder to increase the security of the side interlock, lip 30 and web 32preferably have thickened locking ridges 34 running along the innersurfaces of their respectively bottommost and uppermost edges.

Endwise adjacent siding units are adapted to interlock by means of theaforementioned flange portions 31 and slots 37. As shown in FIG. 2, slot37 is cut in strip 26 against the surface of lower panel 24, extendingin from the end of the unit a distance equal to the amount of overlapdesired, usually %"1". In a similar manner cutouts 35 and 39 are made inlip 30 and web 32 respectively. Normally the cutouts 35 and 39 will bemade at the point of installation as needed, with the slots 37 madeduring the manufacturing process. In this manner the applicator caninstall adjacent panels in the same course from right to left or in thereverse as the case may be. However, it is entirely feasible to make thecutouts at the plant, as well as the slots, and the installation processis thereby further facilitated. Also, slots 37 will normally appear atboth sides of a siding unit, to enable interlock at both ends.

To accomplish endwise interlock, the flange 31 of one unit is insertedinto the slot 37 of the adjacent unit, said one unit thereby overlappingthe front of said adjacent unit. As the flange proceeds into the slot,it will abut the end of the slot, this abutment serving to stop furtheroverlap and completing the endwise lock of the invention.

Due to the simplicity and uniformity .of the end and side interlocks,assembly of the individual siding units into a continuous siding wall isan easy matter, and, from the outside, the interlocked joints betweenunits appear identical to the built-in joint between the panels of theunits themselves.

When desired, insulating board 40 may be attached to the back of thesiding units before they are installed. To accomplish this it isnecessary only to slip standard insulating board into the receivingchannels provided by flange 31 in cooperation with panel 22 and strip26, and web 32 in cooperation with panel 24 and strip 28. To that end,lip 30 is built as close to panel 22 as is practical, in order not tointerfere with the inserted board 40. The board being substantiallyflexible and compressible, there is no difliculty in squeezing itbetween the interlocked lip 30 and lower panel 24 without the need forcutting away the board. Optionally, the board 40 can extend upward tooverlap the adjacent panel, or can terminate short of overlap. Dependingupon the choice made in this regard, the nails used to install thesiding may or may not pass through the board 40.

Panel 22 will normally be somewhat taller than panel 24, since panel 22must carry the hooking lip 30 as well as the nail holes 33. In thismanner, when the units are interlocked all panels will present to theexterior equally tall exposed surfaces. The relative heights of thepanels is not critical, however, and it is possible to size them toultimately present unequally tall exposed panel surfaces. A maximumpanel height of 4"6" is preferable and a thickness of approximately 30mils to as high as approximately 50 mils.

The inside and outside corners of the invention preferably employ acommon structural principle in cooperating with the siding units 20 atthe corners of the wall surface 42. In particular, the corners each havea front panel structure comprising two front panels, 46 in the case ofoutside corner 44 and in the case of inside corner 58. These frontpanels will normally lie in mutually perpendicular planes and will meetat a vertical corner line, 48 and 62. Attached to the front panelstructures 46 and 60 are pairs of channel forming members 50 and 64, onesuch channel forming member running vertically along each front paneland cooperating with that front panel to provide an outwardly openingvertically extending channel 53 adapted to receive the free verticaledges of the siding units 20. The basic structural difference betweenthe outside and inside corners is that channel forming members 50 areattached to the concave side of outside corner 44, whereas channelforming members 64 are attached to the convex side of inside corner 58,in order that the respective front panel structures end up with theappropriate orientation relative to the wall surfaces 42.

Turning more particularly to the illustrated embodiments of therespective corners, outside corner 44 comprises substantiallyperpendicular front panels 46, intersecting in vertical corner line 48,which corner line ultimately forms the outside corner line of thebuilding exterior. Channel forming members 50 run vertically along thefront panels, close to but spaced from the free vertical edges of panels46. Each channel forming member 50 consists of a rear face 52 and atransverse face 54, said rear transverse faces being substantiallyperpendicular to each other, with the rear face 52 parallel to itsrespective front panel 46 and the transverse face 54 running from thevertical edge of the rear face to a line 56 of intersection with frontpanel 46 spaced from the vertical edge of said panels. The rear faces 52are thus adapted, with appropriate nail holes, to be attached to thewall surfaces 42, thereby securing the front panels 46 in a spacedrelation to the wall surfaces, and cooperating with the transverse faces54 and said front panels to provide the outwardly opening channels 53.Rear face 52 is spaced from front panel 46 an amount approximately equalto the overall thickness of the complete siding unit (meaning the sidingunit wth insulation board attached), so that when the siding units 20are inserted into the channels 53 the bottom edges of the panels 22 and24 will contact the front panels 46, with the insulation board 40contacting the rear face 52, as shown in FIG. 6. A solid externalappearance is thus presented.

Inside corner 58 comprises substantially perpendicular front panels 66,joined in front by a covering strip 70. Optionally, the panels 60 mayintersect or merely approach each other at vertical corner line 62, theexact structure in this respect being unimportant due to the coveringstrip that provides the exterior surface of the corner. In theembodiment shown channel forming members 64 provide rear faces 66parallel to and spaced rearwardly from the front panels, with transversefaces 68 running from the edges of the rear faces to the corner line 62.In the manner described above with regard to the outside corners, therear faces attach to the wall surfaces, space the front panel structureoutwardly from the wall, and receive the edges of the siding units inthe outwardly opening channels 53 of the above described width.

Further and important advantages of the assembly of the invention arerealized by the incorporation of J-shaped sealing means around door andwindow frames. As shown in FIGS. 7-11, the sealing means consist of a J-shaped channel member 72 that houses a resilient member 74.

J-shaped channel member 72 comprises substantially parallel rear andfront walls 76 and 78, joined by channel floor member 80. Rear wall 76is preferably wider than front wall 78 and contains nail holes 77 bymeans of which the rear wall 76 is attached to the wall surfaces 42.When installed, floor member 80 goes against the edge of the window ordoor frame, and an outwardly opening channel is provided to receive thevertical edges of the siding units 20, in much the same manner as doneby the channels of the corner structures.

According to the invention, resilient member 74, being a closed plastictube or the equivalent, rests on the floor 80 of the channel, andreceives the siding edges in abutment against it. The resilient memberis thus compressed, tightly filling the channel, and along with theextension of the walls 76 and 78 over the siding, providing a highlyeffective water seal around door and window frames. In order to use asingle elongated strip of channeling around a complete frame, parallelcuts are made in the walls 76 and 78, and the floor 80 is bent aroundthe corner of the frame. The resilient member then follows the bend inthe floor 80.

To install the assembly of the invention, the corners and sealing meansare first nailed to the wall surfaces in their appropriate positions.Then, insulating board is inserted into the individual siding units andone by one they are nailed to the wall surfaces, each interlocking withthe preceding unit.

Although the invention has been described in detail herein, the specificconstruction set out above should in no way be taken as limiting thetrue scope and spirit of the invention, but is intended by way ofexample only.

What is claimed is:

1. In a generally rectangular multiple panel clapboardsimulating sidingunit adapted to interlock with other units of the same type alongopposite terminal edges,

said unit comprising an integral piece of material pro viding aplurality of flat, parallel, clapboard-side-simulating panel portionsand a plurality of flat, parallel, clapboard-edge-simulating stripportions, said panel portions being located in spaced parallel planesproviding parallel edges with adjacent edges of said panel portionsspaced from one another in a plane perpendicular to the plane of saidpanel portions and said strip portions being located in spaced parallelplanes generally perpendicular to the planes of said panel portions andextending between adjacent edges of said panel portions and along oneterminal edge of said unit with strip portions located along oppositeedges of a panel portion extending in opposite directions therefrom,that improvement comprising an integral flange portion on one side ofthe strip portion located between adjacent edges of adjacent panelportions of said unit, said flange portion being spaced from the one ofsaid adjacent panel portions extending from said strip portion in thesame direction as said flange portion, said flange portion, stripportion and said last mentioned panel portion thereby forming anintegral tri-planar channel, said strip portion being slotted inwardlyfrom its end for a predetermined distance, said slot being locatedparallel to and beside said flange on the side thereof toward said panelportion which extends from said strip portion in the same direction assaid flange portion, said slot receiving the flange portion of anadjacent overlapping siding unit positively to lock together adjacentsiding units at the strip portions thereof located between their panelportions.

2. In a generally rectangular multiple panel clapboardsimulating sidingunit adapted to interlock with other units of the same type alongopposite terminal edges at each of the four sides thereof,

said unit comprising an integral piece of material providing a pluralityof flat, parallel, clapboard-side-sirnulating panel portions and aplurality of flat, parallel, clapboard-edge-simulating strip portions,

said panel portions being located in spaced parallel planes providingparallel edges with adjacent edges of said panel portions spaced fromone another in a plane perpendicular to the plane of said panel portionsand said strip portions being located in spaced parallel planesperpendicular to the planes of said panel portions and extending betweenadjacent edges of said panel portions and along one terminal edge ofsaid unit with strip portions located along opposite edges of a panelportion extending in opposite directions therefrom,

that improvement which consists of siding unit end locking means andside locking means, said end locking means including an integral flangeportion on one side of a strip portion located between adjacent edges ofadjacent panel portions of said unit, said flange portion extending in aplane parallel to said panel portions and being spaced from the one ofsaid adjacent panel portions extending from said strip portion in thesame direction as said flange portion, said strip portion being adaptedto be slotted to provide a slot therein extending inwardly from its endfor a predetermined distance, said slot being located parallel to andbeside said flange on the side thereof toward said panel portion whichextends from said strip portion in the same direction as said flangeportion, said slot receiving the flange portion of an adjacentoverlapping siding unit positively to lock together adjacent sidingunits at the strip portions thereof located between their panelportions, and said side locking means including an integral locking webportion on the edge of said strip portion along said one terminal edgeof said unit, spaced from the panel portion integrally connected theretoand extending in the same direction and an inwardly directed lip portionspaced inwardly from the opposite terminal edge of said unit andextending generally parallel thereto along one face of one of said panelportions and on the opposite face of said unit from said locking webportion for receiving the locking web portion of an adjacentover-lapping siding unit between said lip and said one panel portion tolock together adjacent siding units along opposite terminal edgesthereof, in combination with inside and outside corner structures,

said corner structures each comprising a front panel structure and twochannel forming portions, each such portion having a rear face adaptedto be attached to a wall structure and cooperating with said front panelstructure to provide an outwardly opening channel, said channels havinga width substantially equal to the overall thickness of the completesiding unit,

7 8 said corner structures thereby adapted to be units, said channelwalls overlapping said attached to the corners of a wall structuresiding unit to provide sealing, and to receive in said channels the freevertical edges of said interlocking siding units R f re Ci by theExaminer and in combination with sealing means 5 comprising integralelongated J-shaped UNITED STATES PATENTS channel members havingsubstantially par- 2,169,865 8/1939 Banta 52212 allel channel Wallsjoined by transverse 2,173,774 9/1939 Birch et al. 52-522 channel floormembers, 2,916,112 12/1959 Kiehl 522l1 said channel members adapted tobe installed 10 3 120 032 2 19 4 Menddsohn 52 531 against a wallstructure along door and 3 139 703 7 19 4 Hflt 52 211 X window frameswith the channel openings 3,159943 12/1964 Sugar et a1 X in thedirection away from said frames, the 3,214,876 1/1965 Manes 52 522 widthof said channels being substantially equal the Overall width of SaidSiding 15 REINALDO P. MACHADO Primaly Examiner units, said channelmembers thereby adapted to receive said interlocking siding KENNETHDOWNEY, Examiner.

1. IN A GENERALLY RECTANGULAR MULTIPLE PANEL CLAPBOARDSIMULATING SIDINGUNIT ADAPTED TO INTERLOCK WITH OTHER UNITS OF THE SAME TYPE ALONGOPPOSITE TERMNAL EDGES, SAID UNIT COMPRISING AN INTEGRAL PIECE OFMATERIAL PROVIDING A PLURALITY OF FLAT, PARALLEL,CLAPBOARD-SIDE-SIMULTAING PANEL PORTIONS AND A PLURALITY OF FLAT,PARALLEL, CLAPBOARD-EDGE-SIMULATING STRIP PORTIONS, SAID PANEL PORTIONSBEING LOCATED IN SPACED PARALLEL PLANES PROVIDING PARALLEL EDGES WITHADJACENT EDGES OF SAID PANEL PORTIONS SPACED FROM ONE ANOTHER IN A PLANEPERPENDICULAR TO THE PLANE OF SAID PANEL PORTIONS AND SAID STRIPPORTIONS BEING LOCATED IN SPACED PARALLEL PLANES GENERALLY PERPENDICULARTO THE PLANES OF SAID PANEL PORTIONS AND EXTENDING BETWEEN ADJACENTEDGES OF SAID PANEL PORTIONS AND ALONG ONE TERMINAL EDGE OF SAID UNITWITH STRIP PORTIONS LOCATED ALONG OPPOSITE EDGES OF A PANEL PORTIONEXTENDING IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS THEREFROM, THAT IMPROVEMENT COMPRISINGAN INTEGRAL FLANGE PORTION ON ONE SIDE OF THE STRIP PORTION LOCATEDBETWEEN ADJACENT EDGES OF ADJACENT PANEL PORTIONS OF SAID UNIT, SAIDFLANGE PORTION BEING SPACED FROM THE ONE OF SAID ADJACENT PANEL PORTIONSEXTENDING FROM SAID STRIP PORTION IN THE SAME DIRECTION AS SAID FLANGEPORTION, SAID FLANGE PORTION, STRIP PORTION AND SAID LAST MENTIONEDPANEL PORTION THEREBY FORMING AN INTEGRAL TRI-PLANAR CHANNEL, SAID STRIPPORTION BEING SLOTTED INWARDLY FROM ITS END FOR A PREDETERMINEDDISTANCE, SAID SLOT BEING LOCATED PARALLEL TO AND BESIDE SAID FLANGE ONTHE SIDE THEREOF TOWARD SAID PANEL PORTION WHICH EXTENDS FROM SAID STRIPPORTION IN THE SAME DIRECTION AS SAID FLANGE PORTION, SAID SLOTRECEIVING THE FLANGE PORTION OF AN ADJACENT OVERLAPPING SIDING UNITPOSITIVELY TO LOCK TOGETHER ADJACENT SIDING UNITS AT THE STRIP PORTIONSTHEREOF LOCATED BETWEEN THEIR PANEL PORTIONS.